Improvement in hoop-skirts



i gtiujml' doorn @sind @film g THEODORE DQDAY, or -New YORK, N. Y.

Letterslotent No. 86,910, dated February 16, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN HOOP-KIRTS.

' The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom fit mm] concern:

i Be it known that I, THEODORE D.DAY, of the city and State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful Improvement in vHoop-Skirts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of' the said invention, reference being had to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is an elevation of the upper part of the skirt, seen sidewise, andl ,-llignrc 2 is a plan of the same, showing the bustlehoops.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

In ladies lh'oop or lskeleton-skirts, difficulty has been experienced in accommodatingr the same to the varying sizes of the hips and lower parts of the body, and also in giving to the skirt more or less bustle, or rearward projection, at the upper part of the skirt, according to the dress that is worn, or the desires of the wearer.

'lhe main or body-hoops of the skirt have been heretofore fitted with an extension-slide, so as to vary the diameter oi' the hoop, and the tapes or vertical connections have been made adjustable at the points of connection with the waistband, but neither of these modes oi' construction accomplished the object of varying the projection ofthe skirt at the back, to produce more or less of a bustle.

The iiature oi" my said invention consists in a skirt formed with an adjustable belt, that allows the points of connection of the 'vertical tapes to be varied as occasion 'may require, in combination with the bustlehoops that are iitted witlra slide or extension, to allow thc bustle to be increased or diminished, and also accommodate the size of the hips.

In the drawinga, is the waistband, or belt, b b are the vertical tapes or connections,

c c are the bustle-hoops, and

e, the complete or body-hoops of the skirt, only the upper ones of which are represented in the drawing, the skirt being-extended below to any desired amount, .and the size and shape of the skirt may be according to theusual requirements.

The bustle-hoop o r hoops c are provided Withan extension at 2,the same being formed by the ends of the hoop lapping, and being provided with sliding clasps.4

I prefer to have all the. bustle-hoops extensible, and also to have each hoop or spring formed of three pieces, with extension-slides, 2, located, one onI each side of the back vertical tape of the skirt, as shown. The bustle can be varied, as desired, by this adjustment, so as to stand out more or less.

In order to raise or lower the bustle, the vertical tapes or connections may be variable or adjustable by a buckle-clasp, or similar` device, at or near the point of connection with the waist-belt a, as seen at 15.

The adjustment of the size of thebustle-hoop renders it important that the points at which the vertical tapes or connections intersect the waist-belt be varied, so as to cause the parts to set smoothly and correctly.

'This may be accomplished by lengthening the waistbelt, or shortening it, between the respective points of attachment, by the use of a clamping slide-buckle, as shown at 4, or the tapes b may terminate in a metallic slide or loop, as at 5, through which the belt a passes, so that the said loop 5may be slidden on the said belt to any required point The hooks 6, and eyelets 7, or analogous means, may be employed, so as to change the point of connection of the tapes to the waistband, as occasion may require.

The advantages of this construction of skirt, and the merits possessed by the same over thc skirts heretofore made, will be apparent om the foregoing.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patr ent, is.- y l A hoop-skirt, in which the bustle-hoops are formed with a slide, soas to 'be extended or contracted, in combination with the waistband, fitted substantially as specified, so that the distance between the vertical tapes oi' connections can be varied, for .the purposes specified. 

